Phonograph needle



April 28, 1925. 1,535,285

H. BAMBERGER PHONO GRAPH NEEDLE Filed March a, 1924 INVENTOR J-[e nry'Bamberyer ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,535,285 PATENT OFFICE HENRY BAMBERGER, OF NEWARK, NEWJERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T ALEXANDER MILNE, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

PI-IONOGRAPH NEEDLE.

Application filed March 8, 1924.

1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY BAMnnnenn, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Newarr, in the county of Essex and State .of New Jersey,have made and invented certain new and useful Improvements in PhonographNeedles, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to a phonograph needle and particularly to thatclass of needle wherein the element which contacts directly with therecord is made or composed of a fine wire which may be advanced throughall-older as the wire wears.

The object of my invention is to provide a phonograph needle having animproved form of holder for the line wire, so that the latter may beretracted as well as advanced and thus vary the volume of sound beingreproduced.

A further object is" to provide a phonegraph needle having an improvedform for the fine wire, the wire being of greater breadth thanthickness, and to provide for use therewith a wire holder adapted toengage the wire and prevent it from turning so that the longer axis ofatransverse section of the wire will extend in thedirection of thelength of the grooves of the record to thereby obtain not only greaterstrength for the fine wire but also to materially improve the quality ofthe reproduced sound.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in'the improved phonograph needle illustrated in the accompanying drawingand hereinafter described and claimed, and in such variations andn'ioditications thereof as will be obvious to those skilled in the artto which my inven tion relates, it being understood that changes may bemade within the scope of what is claimed without departing from thespirit thereof.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is disclosed in theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view ofa partially formed phonograph needle embodyingthe characteristic features of my invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the complete needle;

Figure 3 is a view in transverse section taken on the line 33 of Figure2;

Figure 4 is a similar view taken on the line 4t4; of Figure 2;

Serial No. 697,798.

Figure 5 is a view in elevation and partially in section of my improvedneedle in use, with the wire extended so as to act as a so-called softneedle;

Figure 6 illustrates my needle as being used as a so-called mediumneedle;

Figure 7 is a similar view illustrating it acting as a so-called loudneedle;

Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 are sectional views of wires of various contour,each, however, having the characteristic that one transverse axis isconsiderably longer than the other transverse axis;

Figure 12 is a diagrammatic view of the wear of the ordinary solidneedle; and 7 Figures 13, 14: and 15 are diagrammatic views of themanner of wear of the wire of my improved needle.

Referring specifically to the several views, wherein'similar referencenumerals designate corresponding parts throughout, the

wire holder of the needle is cut or stamped to the configurationillustrated in Figure 1 and while in this shape is composed of the headpieces 20, 21, connected by an intermediate bar 22. The head piece 21 isprovided with a threaded opening 23, while the head piece 20 is providedwith a corresponding openin 24:, the latter being reamed out, however,for clearance for a screw which 35 engages the threaded opening 23, aswill later appear. The head 21 and portion of the connecting bar 22 areprovided with a longitudinally extending groove or channel 25, the samebeing of relatively greater 00 thickness than breadth andcon'nnunicating with the groove or channel is an opening 26 extendingthrough the bar. The bar is then bent about a transverse axis, bringimthe head pieces'2321 together, the same being held in such position bythe thumb screw 27. The parts as thus arranged form a wire holder, andthe bar 22 new forms a shank 28 which is adapted to fit within the11eedlereceiving socket of a phonograph reproducer, as clearlyillustrated in Figure 5. The opening 26 now occurs at the extremity ofthe shank 28 and provides for the insertion of a sound reproducing wire29, the same extending not only through the opening 26 but also alongand through the channel or groove 25. The wire 29 is of slightly greaterthickness than the depth of the groove 25, so that as the thumb screw 27is turned the Wire will be pinched between the two head pieces 2021 and.accordingly clamped in place. The wire at its front extremity willprotrude beyond the wire holder, as illustrated at 30 in Figure 2,, andthis protrusion can be regulated by exerting a pressure upon therearwardly protruding extremity of the wire, so that the wire may beeither advanced or retracted, and, as

illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7, will impart to the needle thecharacteristic known as soft, medium or loud, respectively.

As illustrated in Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11, the wire may partake ofseveral different cross-sectional forms, it being noted, 'however, thatin all cases the wire is of greater breadth than thickness, and l havefound that a wire which is approximately .006 in width and .011 inbreadth gives very excellent reproduction.

Referring particularly to Figure 8, the needle is composed of asul'istantially circular body 31, from diametric portions of whichextend the ribs 32. In Figure 9 the wire partakes of an oval cross:section. In Figure 10 the wire partakes of a rectangular cross section,with the smaller sides slightly convexed, and this particular form Ihave found provides a very sturdy wire and at the same time gives a veryexcellent reproduction. In Figure 11 the wire is shown to:

be of substantially diamond-shape cross section.

My improved wire holder is provided with irregular or knurled surfaces.33 so as to facilitate the handling of the needle. I would particularlycall attention to the diagram illustrated in- Figure 12, wherein theusual ordinary form of solid needle is illustrated and the distance Arepresents the contactof the point of the needle with the record afterthe playing of a single record. The distance A, it is to be noted, is a.diameter, and it is the large size of this dimension that causes thescratchy noise and poor reproduction. T he manner in which my improvedneedle overcomes these faults is clearly illustrated in Figures 13, l tand 15, the diagram 13 illustrating the wire prior to any wear whatever,it being noted that the side presented to view is the larger diameter,i. e., the .011".

After a considerable number of records have been played with my improvedneedle, the point wears along the diagonal line B, and before thisdiagonal line extends entirely across the end of the needle, the entireholder is reversed or turned through 180, which turns the wire intoposition as illus trated in Figure 15, causing the needle to then wearalong the line C. This wear is allowed to take place until the line Cpasses the longitudinal axis D of the wire, whereupon the holder willagain be reversed and the action repeated. In this manner, the surfaceexposed to the record is maintained at a minimum and a very excellentquality or tone of the reproduced sound will accord ingly be had.

Having thus described and explained my invention, 1 claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent:

1. A phonograph needle holder formed of a single piece of metalincluding two head pieces and a connecting shank, one head piece andone-half of the shank provided with a groove and with an openingextending through said shank communicating with said groove, said shankbeing bent about its center to form a filler sleeve to fit the ordinarystylus socket and to bring the two heads together and means for clampingthe two head pieces together to clamp a wire within said groove.

2. A phonograph needle holder formed of a single piece of metalincluding two head pieces and a connecting shank, one head piece andone-half of the shank provided with a groove of relatively greater widththan depth and with an opening ex tending through said shankcommunicating with said groove, said shank being bent about its centerto form a filler sleeve to lit the ordinary stylus socket and to bringthe two heads together, and means for clamping the two hea'd piecestogether to clamp a wire within said groove.

3. A phonograph needle holder formed of a single piece of metalincluding two head pieces and a connecting shank, one head piece andone-half of the shank provided with a groove and adapted to hold a wireof approxin iately eleven one-thousandths of an inch in breadth and sixone-thousandths of an inch in thickness, and with an opening extendingthrough said shank communicating with said groove, said shank being bentabout its center to form a filler sleeve to lit the ordinary stylussocket and to bring the two heads together, and means for clan'iping thetwo head pieces together to clamp a wire within said groove.

Signed at New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York andState of New York, this (3th day of March, A. D. 1924:.

HENRY BAidBER H 111.

lVitnesses A. M. LINDENSTHUTH, ANN V. lVALsir.

